Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention disclosed broadly relates to the field of telephony Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, and more particularly relates to the field of speaker verification for authorizing updates to user-provided services using an Intelligent Peripheral (IP) in an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN).
2. Description of the Related Art
Over the past few years, the number of new services and features offered over enhanced telephone networks has grown. These enhanced telephone networks are known as AINs. Telephony control networks conforming to AIN architecture contains intelligent subsystems for controlling switched traffic and user services such as call waiting, call forwarding, voice announcements, voice response, and keyboard response. These intelligent subsystems, called xe2x80x9cIntelligent Peripheralsxe2x80x9d (IPs), are configured for specific regional calling services.
The increase in the variety of telephony services and features offered over these AIN systems are further accelerated by the recent congressional legislation permitting, for the first time, a single business entity to offer telephone, cable and Internet services. Both cable operators and telephone providers are vying to compete in this newly deregulated communications arena. As new services are added, a need exists to enable subscribers to easily and securely modify their subscription preferences. For example, a parent may desire to block certain types of television programs from being received based on criteria such as the violence, obscenity, and other offensive content not appropriate for children. In response to this parental desire, the television industry has voluntarily implemented rating identifiers that are transmitted along with their broadcast program content. These voluntary rating identifiers are designed to work with technologies such as the V-chip to block undesired television programs. The V-chip technology is scheduled to be widely commercially available by the year 2000. A problem plaguing the providers of V-chip enabled televisions and devices is how to provide parents an easy and secure method to program which television program content is filtered out by these V-chip enabled devices. The challenge is designing a system that, on one hand, the parents find easy enough to selectively update the filtering criteria and, on the other hand, make the system secure enough to prevent children from defeating the parental selections. Security techniques such as Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) analogous to credit and bank card PINs are being explored by the providers of the V-chip technology. Each user PIN would be matched to a particular V-chip system. However a concern still exists of how to address the problem when a parent loses or forgets his or her uniquely assigned PIN. Requiring the supplier of a V-chip compatible device to keep customer records for each V-chip device sold is cumbersome. Moreover, if a V-chip compatible television is later privately sold, the subsequent purchaser may have difficulty establishing an ownership privilege in order to be given a replacement PIN. As an alternative solution, several broadcasters are beginning to offer these same types of selective filtering services of television program content but these services are controlled by the broadcaster or local cable company. One example is pay-perview, where a subscriber is able to purchase the rights to view a given show. Typically, the broadcaster broadcasts the authorization code over to a television converter box, where the code is received and the selection de-scrambled for viewing. Those subscribers not buying the rights to view a specified broadcast are presented a scramble version of the broadcast making the program content indiscernible. This broadcaster-based filtering is being extended using AIN systems to other services such as filtering out generally available network television based on rating identifiers to provide parents secure control over their children""s programs. The ability for parents to selectively and securely control the content in these broadcaster-based filtering system is a problem. Therefore a need exists to provide an easy and secure method to update television filtering services over AIN systems.
Another example of a need for users of AIN services are in the area of Internet content filtering. Many parents wish to limit their children""s unsupervised access to certain types of Internet content. To accomplish this many parents purchase PC products like NetNanny and CyberPatrol to limit access to Web sites containing content that includes violence, obscenity, and other offensive content. These enduser products allow parents to select words, phrases, sites, pictures and content, which the parent deems inappropriate for their children to view. In the meantime, many traditional telephone and cable providers have begun offering access to the Internet through local access services. The Internet access providers, known as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), have begun offering additional Internet services such as these filtering functions but instead of running on the end-user""s PC, these ISP based services run at the ISP gateway itself. These parental selectable Internet criteria as in the television access filtering previously discussed above, need an easy and secure way to enable parents to update their Internet filtering preferences. Therefore, a need exists to provide easy and secure method to update Internet filtering services over AIN systems.
Still another category of service beginning to be offered by the telephone and cable TV providers is the ability to program and control home appliances. One plan is to treat every appliance in a home with a unique Internet Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address or Internet address for a given subscriber""s home. Appliance services connected through the URLs or through other distributed means such as LANs can be controlled by the service provider. For example, a service provider may offer the control of home systems such as security control, heating ventilation and air conditioning control, lighting control, etc. over the Internet. The provider of these services desires to provide a simple and secure method for the subscriber to a service to control these appliances. Returning to the home lighting control example, the provider of the service may offer subscribers the ability to control lights, by turning them on or off. One AIN service may be to enable a homeowner, away from home, to turn on or off lights in their home over the telephone. This would make the homeowner""s house appear occupied during his/her absence, creating a deterrence to theft. Accordingly, a need exists to provide an easy and secure method to update subscription services for home control over AIN systems.
Still other services offered through AIN systems such as banking, billing, electronic commerce, insurance and other finical services depend on identification and authentication. Typically the providers of these services have depended on userids combined with passwords or PINs techniques to authenticate users. However, the use of passwords and userids over AIN systems are susceptible to interception and theft. Therefore, a need exists for a method to update subscription information for financial services offered over AIN systems as well.
A method for controlling subscription services delivered to a user by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) coupled to an Automated Intelligent Network(AIN) telephone system with at least one central office switching system. An intelligent peripheral subsystem is connected to the central office switching system, via a call connection channel. The intelligent peripheral subsystem providing at least one auxiliary call processing capability via the call connection channel and provide a telephony speaker authentication method for selectively authorizing updates to user subscription services types provides by the ISP, wherein each of the subscription services types include one or more service options. The method for controlling subscription services including:a) prompting for a voice response;b) authenticating a user""s voice response pattern by performing a speaker-dependent cepstrum matching algorithm with previously stored samples of the user""s voice response, and if the user""s voice response pattern is positively authenticated with previously stored samples, then performing the steps of:c) presenting a menu of user subscription types, each with available AIN services option, by activating a service option selected by the user, wherein the service option is governed by said ISP by regulating one or more Uniform Resource Locator(URL) addresses received by a user subscriber device from said ISP over a telecommunication line.